Degenerative disk disease in a little dog (Or…Adventures in immobilizing a terrier for the good of her health)

Isabella has been with us over nine years and will be turning ten in October. She has been a happy, healthy little dog and a great addition to our family.

In mid-March, 2011, our kids noticed that Isi wasn’t herself: “Mom, something’s wrong with Isi. She won’t even look at the ball when we throw it to her. Something’s definitely wrong.” Isi, being female and a terrier, can certainly have her moods. I didn’t think much of her disinterest in play until the following day when she wasn’t interested in much of anything. She was clearly uncomfortable and was having a hard time lying down and getting up the stairs. She hadn’t eaten in two days and hadn’t gone number two for at least a day. When I put my hand under her belly (which had become tense) to move her aside, she yelped. Of course she had waited until Sunday evening to show us these troubling signs and we decided to make a trip to urgent care.

Once at urgent care, Isi had a fairly loose bowel movement in the middle of the floor – completely unlike her. We suggested that her anal sacs might be full and they certainly were. Isi appeared to feel better after having them expressed so we left with antibiotics and pain medication and hoped we were on our way to recovery.

The following morning, however, Isi wasn’t getting back to normal the way we expected. Over the course of the day we realized something was still going on. On late Monday afternoon, we called Care Animal Hospital, our regular vet clinic, and were told to bring her in immediately to see Dr. Garnett. After checking Isi over and reviewing her case, Dr. Garnett was not convinced that this was a stomach or anal sac issue; she began to explore the possibility of a disc problem. Isi would need to be immobilized immediately and Dr. Garnett decided to keep her overnight in anticipation of x-rays the following morning. We knew it would be best for all of us, especially Isi, so we said goodbye and waited anxiously for news.

The next day, Dr. Garnett called and said her suspicions had been confirmed; that the x-rays showed evidence of degenerative disc disease. The radiologist would later confirm Dr. Garnett’s diagnosis so we prepared to immobilize Isi for at least the next two weeks so that she could heal and hopefully return to normal. We also prepared for the worst case scenario – full paralysis.

So how would we immobilize our otherwise energetic little terrier with two kids in the house? The emotional logistics would actually prove to be the most difficult. Fortunately, we had done most of the work when Isi was a puppy – we had made the decision to crate train Isi many years ago. While Isi typically has the run of the house, she does love her crate. She sleeps, travels, and seeks respite (when the kids get to be too much) in her crate. Over the next two weeks, we would come to find out that it was probably harder for us than for Isi to be in her crate that long. Diligently, several times a day we carried the crate outside, put her on a leash for short bathroom breaks, and carried her back inside in the crate. We brought her food to her door where she could eat - from her crate. She watched tv in the family room with us – from the crate. We missed her warm little body at our feet and her pretentious prances across the floor but slowly and surely, she improved.

We decided to continue to restrict movement for the next two weeks – letting her out only to eat or relieve herself and have a good stretch. We saw Dr. Garnett nearly one month after Isi’s initial signs and everything checked out ok!  Isi is restricted from jumping on the couch or the bed (easy, because we never allowed that anyway) but otherwise is looking like her old self. The kids couldn’t be happier that she wants to play ball again and I’m happy to have her sit at my feet. It wasn’t easy (mostly for us) but we’re glad Isi spent most of that month in her crate.

My family has been coming to Care Animal since 1989, when we had Quincy, a sweet little Yorkshire Terrier. We have had confidence in Dr. Garnett and her staff since that time and are happy to share a partnership with them in the health of our pets. Thank you! 

-- Darcie B.

Sammy's Story - An adoption that was "meant to be"

I adopted Sammy from the Petsmart at 52nd and Wadsworth in Arvada. My husband and I always go to see the kitties that are there and tempt ourselves and one day in June 2010 I saw this beautiful tortoise cat just sitting in the cage looking quietly out at us and I was hooked. I resisted since we had an adopted kitty already and an elderly Pekinese. A couple weeks later when we went back she was gone and I thought, "Well, that's for the best she has a home now" but I never forgot her.

Fast forward a few months to late October and I was suffering with the loss of our Peke in September and looking for a kitty that would grab me as much as Sammy had and when I went in the cat room there she was! She had been pulled for treatment for an injury and had been placed back at Petsmart for adoption. That was Saturday, by Sunday I announced that we needed the cat carrier as we were going to go get that beautiful girl and bring her home.

Sammy (short for Samhain as "Weenie" short for Halloween was just too silly) was matted from staying so long in a cage and was dirty and her one eye was still a bit cloudy but I was in love. We started the paperwork, put her in the carrier and paid with out new baby howling her protest.

We got her home and settled then went right back to get her a cat perch for the window, (which she has decided is the best invention for catdom, as are all windows,) I soon learned that their guess on her age was wrong. They said 4-6 years but she was acting more like she was one. She LOVES to play and run and eat and hunt birds and squirrels from her perches and she is one active girl. She is very good though and doesn't try and play too rough with out 8 year old adopted kitty, Youki. She is so loving and talkative and her coat took some major brushing from her time at the shelter but with good food and tons of rubs her coat is so glossy and beautiful!

She is just a wonderful kitty! She watches Youki all the time and emulates her. So Youki grooms herself and Sammy has to as well. Youki curls up and sleeps and Sammy looks at her like she's crazy and runs off to play. Youki yowls after using the litter box so Sammy does now too. "Time to flush!!!" she says. I will always adopt older kitties as they are stable and settled in who they are but with the possibility of meshing with their new environment.

I love our girls so much and my husband and I always check the kitty cages in Petsmart but tell ourselves that we need to let our girls have their spaces and to add another would be mean. But one day someone else will be coming home with us!

Friendly feral cat gets second chance

Newman is a feral cat who was adopted from Care Animal Hospital 3 years ago. When he was first brought into the hospital, Dr. Garnett was sure that, like most feral cats, he could not be touched without a sedative. Newman was a little bit different than we expected, though. He sat near the front of the cage after his neuter surgery and seemed to want to interact, so Dr. Garnett started to look for a good home for him.

His owner-to-be was in the pottery lab with Dr. Garnett one day complaining about too many mice in her house, and how she really needed a good "mouser". Dr. Garnett told her that she had this very beat-up cat that had vomited a lot of tapeworms, indicating that he was probably great at catching mice. She took this battered old guy, who lived under her bed for a few weeks, but really ended up being a joy to their family. Here is a statement that Newman wrote for the blog:

My name is Newman (after Paul, not Seinfeld: let's be clear about that up front). When I'm not having a drink of fresh water from the faucet, I'm fixing my Siamese blue eyes on an impudent dog, letting her know who's boss around here. Since coming to live with my adoptive mom three years ago (after Dr. Paige tended my extensive wounds and took away my manhood--and, soon after, my tomcat cheeks), I've come to be loved by all the neighborhood as "the best kitty", presumably due to my incredible good looks, affectionate nature, keen mousing abilities but respect for the family parrot, and the fact that all the other cats in the surrounding environs welcome me with open paws. Or maybe it's because my person can't stop singing my praises about what a perfect match we are. "I couldn't have special ordered a better cat," she's been known to insist. "He's everything I wanted, and nothing I didn't. I don't even have to bother with a litter box because, even in the worst weather, Newman will only go outside." I mean, what more could a person want from a pet? I'm not even a finicky eater.